Clemson notes: Notre Dame football visits Death Valley Oct. 3, 2015

CLEMSON - Notre Dame will visit Death Valley to play Clemson on Oct. 3, 2015, announced Friday by the ACC office.

Notre Dame will play five ACC football teams per year as part of its conference agreement, and its 2014, 2015 and 2016 assignments are now known. The school joined this year as a full member in every other sport.

The Fighting Irish have played once at Memorial Stadium, on Nov. 12, 1977, when No. 5 Notre Dame beat the 15th-ranked Tigers 21-17 in a game which, according to Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret (a Notre Dame graduate), included 36 future NFL players. Led by quarterback Joe Montana, Notre Dame went on to win the national championship.

Clemson got Notre Dame back two years later with a 16-10 win in South Bend, Ind. At that time, head coach Danny Ford was 31 years old, and is still the youngest coach to beat the Irish in Notre Dame Stadium since 1934.

All future assignments for Clemson against Notre Dame are yet to be determined.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Notre Dame actually will play four ACC opponents in 2014 (vs. Syracuse in East Rutherford, N.J., vs. North Carolina, at Florida State, vs. Louisville) and make it up with six in 2015 (at Virginia, vs. Georgia Tech, at Clemson, at Pitt, vs. Wake Forest, vs. Boston College at Fenway Park.)

The Fighting Irish return to five ACC games per season in 2016, hosting Duke, Miami and Virginia Tech while returning to the NYC area against Syracuse and a road game at North Carolina State. They'll play two home and three road games in 2017.

Notre Dame was the national runner-up in 2012, but fell to 8-4 this fall and will face Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28.

Another top-10

This will mark the first time in Clemson football history the program faces four top-10 opponents in a single year: No. 5 Georgia on Aug. 31, No. 5 Florida State on Oct. 19, No. 10 South Carolina on Nov. 30 and No. 7 Ohio State on Jan. 3 in the Orange Bowl.

The 1981 national championship team went 3-0 against top-10 foes. Clemson is 1-2 this year; with a win over the Buckeyes, it would be the only program in the country to knock off top-10 teams in 2012 and 2013 bowl games.

Both against the Buffs

Clemson is 2-2 in its Orange Bowl history, while Ohio State is 1-0. They have one common opponent in the game: Colorado, which defeated the Tigers, 27-21, after the 1956 season but lost to the Buckeyes, 27-10, following the 1976 slate.

On the call

ESPN announced its bowl broadcast teams, with the Orange Bowl utilizing play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore and color commentator Matt Millen in the booth and Maria Taylor reporting from the sideline.

ESPN Radio is also carrying the game nationally, via Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (color) and Shannon Spake (sideline.)

Buddy buddy

Offensive coordinator Chad Morris was the subject of head coaching rumors this week regarding the vacant position at Arkansas State, before North Carolina's offensive coordinator Blake Anderson took the job Thursday.

Morris was also mentioned early this month in Wake Forest rumors; that position quickly went to former Bowling Green head man Dave Clawson.

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